Conference presentation
Support and sustain diverse and effective ways of teaching and learning mathematics
SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Online, 09/11/2021 - 11/11/2021)
11/11/2021
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Abstract
MAT10002 Foundations: Mathematics & Numeracy and MAT10718 Maths Ideas were two challenging units with big enrolments and diverse cohorts in terms of students' mathematical backgrounds. Both units were offered twice a year, in Session 1 and Session 3/SP6. Whilst the units had performed consistently well in student feedback over many years, Dr Christos Markopoulos, Unit Assessor, and Patrick Bruck sole tutor for MAT10718 and a tutor for MAT10002 recognised an opportunity for improvement in addressing students expectations and needs. Success in the MAT10002 Foundations unit appears to rest on building a culture of trust. This involves:
trust as belief confident, positive expectations
trust as decision willingness to accept vulnerability based on the confidence that the other party is benevolent, reliable, competent, honest, and open
trust as action a dynamic process where teachers and students are involved in actions that require some risk-taking or faith. (Harris et al., 2013; Cerna, 2014).
Students who completed the unit showed outstanding improvement in their mathematical confidence, willing to take risks in learning as they moved through the stages of building trust (Cerna, 2014):
passive trust for example, the incoming students unconditionally trust the lecturer with their learning
active mistrust students anxiety and attitude to maths mean they need to build faith in learning approaches and tools
public confidence growing student confidence and trust in both the teacher and the students mathematical ability is reflected by student feedback: [He] went above and beyond. His dedication to his students is second to none.
active trust at this stage, the teacher and students work side by side towards a common goal of improving student learning. Student feedback: [The teacher] is genuinely interested in seeing me succeed in his class. ; I've learned not just mathematics, but how to be a great and inspirational teacher too.".
The building of a strong culture of mutual trust between teacher and student normalises the learning of mathematics for students, who say I CAN do maths! . To address the MAT10718 diverse student cohort, Christos and Patrick decided to split the unit into Primary and Secondary cohorts, and tailored teaching and learning accordingly. The content was revised to better meet the students needs to narrow the broad content offering and to provide excellent support. The result was outstanding student feedback of the unit and teaching, alongside superb student performance.
Cerna, L. (2014). Trust: What it is and Why it Matters for Governance and Education, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 108, OECD iLibrary Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jxswcg0t6wl-en
Harris, J., Caldwell, B. & Longmuir, F. (2013). Literature review: A culture of trust enhances performance, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Melbourne. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/insights-literature-review-a-culture-of-trust-enhances-performance
Details
- Title
- Support and sustain diverse and effective ways of teaching and learning mathematics
- Creators
- Christos Markopoulos - Southern Cross UniversityPatrick Bruck - Southern Cross University
- Conference
- SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Online, 09/11/2021 - 11/11/2021)
- Identifiers
- 991012986297902368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
- Local Fields
- Evidence Based Practice - SoLT